The present invention relates to packages and containers for cigarettes and a method for packaging cigarettes, the container having a flask-shaped design and being made of a durable plastic material to preserve the freshness of the cigarette contents of the container and to protect the cigarettes from being crushed.
Cigarette packages and containers that protect the cigarettes from crushing and/or preserve the freshness of the cigarettes are known in the prior art. Typically, such prior art packages are box-shaped containers made of a paper or cardstock material in either a xe2x80x9csoftpackxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chardpackxe2x80x9d form. While some designs of the softpack package are capable of retaining a measure of freshness, the softpack package offers little or no protection against crushing. Similarly, some designs of the hardpack package help to preserve freshness to some extent and offer some protection against crushing, however, the cardstock materials that are typically used are vulnerable to damage and crushing under moderate loads. An example of a hardpack package is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,444 to Bray et al., which discloses a typical hinged-lid, box-shaped container that is made from a xe2x80x9crigid card material.xe2x80x9d Further examples of cigarette or tobacco packages made of a paper or cardstock material are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,496,474; 2,960,264; 5,044,550; and 5,097,948.
Other materials, such as metals, woods and plastic, have also been suggested for making crushproof and freshness-preserving cigarette containers, but have never attained widespread acceptance because of their typically high manufacturing costs. However, with the advancement of plastic manufacturing technology, it has become more cost effective for cigarette manufacturers to use plastic materials for cigarette containers. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,867,369 to Cernera and 3,223,275 to Rice, Jr. disclose cigarette containers that may be made out of various materials, such as plastic, wood, metal and cardboard. However, neither Rice, Jr. nor Cernera take advantage of the inherent design and manufacturing versatility of plastic material because they contemplate cigarette container designs that are suitable for construction from wood, metal and paper, as well as plastic.
Paper or cardstock materials alone are not well-suited to preserving the freshness of the contents of a cigarette container because those materials generally do not provide a sufficiently air-tight or air-impermeable barrier. Typically, softpack and hardpack cigarette packages employ inner or outer wraps of metal foil/paper laminates, metallized paper or plastic wrappers, or low permeability transparent polymeric sheet overwraps to protect the freshness and aroma of packaged cigarettes and other smoking article products. However, the use of a plastic container molded from a polymeric material having a relatively high permeability would eliminate the need to use such wrappers and overwraps or, alternatively, in conjunction with such wrappers and overwraps, the air impermeability of molded plastic containers would be further enhanced.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a cigarette container made of a plastic material that protects the contents from accidental crushing and takes advantage of the other benefits of using a plastic material in a cigarette package.
The present invention is directed to a novel xe2x80x9ccrush-proofxe2x80x9d plastic cigarette container that has a relatively thin, contoured shape with rounded corners that is easy for the consumer to handle and carry. Although the cigarette container of the invention may be configured in a number of forms that are not specifically illustrated herein, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a six-sided box with rounded corners, the front and back body panels of which are slightly curved to form a flask-shaped container that conforms generally to the contours of the human body.
The curved, flask-shape of the container also helps to distinguish the cigarette product from the cigarette products of other manufacturers, thereby increasing product identification with consumers. In addition to brand names and trademarks, the unique packaging of the present invention will help consumers identify the product origin and/or manufacturer. The curved body panels and rounded corners also increase the strength and rigidity of the container because they resist bending and flexing better than a container having flat body panels, particularly under the vacuum packing conditions of the container of the present invention.
The container is preferably configured with a relatively narrow front-to-back profile so that twenty cigarettes can be arranged in a 10-10 configuration, that is, two rows of ten cigarettes each. This gives the container a slimmer profile than the conventional box-shaped container which holds twenty cigarettes in a 7-6-7 configuration, i.e., three rows of seven, six, and seven cigarettes. The slight curve and narrow profile of the flask-shaped container accommodates the natural curves of the human hand and body so that it is easy to grasp in the hand and fits comfortably inside a shirt, coat or pant pocket. Although a container designed for the 10-10 cigarette configuration is preferred, other cigarette configurations are also possible, such as, for example, the conventional 7-6-7 configuration or other configurations with more or less than twenty cigarettes.
The container is preferably made of three components, namely, a lid and a body, which are preferably molded together in one piece of a plastic material, such as polypropylene, and a flat base that is preferably die-cut from a flat sheet of a plastic/metal, e.g., a polypropylene/aluminum foil laminate or injection molded of a plastic material, e.g., polypropylene, with a metal foil substrate, such as aluminum foil, bonded to one surface thereof. The body is molded with an open bottom and four panels, i.e., a front, back and two side panels, with a central stiffening rib integrally formed with and extending between the front and back panels. The body is molded with the lid in the open position connected to the body by integrally molded hinges. The body is also molded with an access opening in the top and the upper portion of the front panel through which the cigarettes packed in the container are removed.
The lid is formed with several panels which are integrally and hingedly molded to the top of the container body and is reclosable after opening to help maintain the freshness of the cigarettes contents of the container. Inner surfaces of the lid side panels are molded with longitudinal grooves or depressions which are adapted to engage in a xe2x80x9csnap-fitxe2x80x9d manner with corresponding longitudinal ridges or protrusions on the confronting side panels of the container body to maintain the lid in a secure closed position. Alternatively, the grooves and ridges may be molded on the body and lid, respectively. When the lid is closed, it is flush on all sides with the body of the container to provide a smooth surface onto which a label containing trademarks, logos, advertisements, product information or other printed or embossed indicia may be placed or adhered. The label substrate may be may be paper, metal foil, a single- or multi-layer polymeric film or the like. The paper or polymeric film may be metallized with an aluminum metal, for example. A preferred label is an adhesive-backed metallized paper.
As previously mentioned, the bottom of the as-molded container is open and includes a recessed shoulder or ledge around its internal perimeter on which the base of the container bears when it is inserted into the open bottom of the container body after the cigarettes are loaded in the body through the open bottom. A heat-activated adhesive is applied to the surface of the metal (aluminum) foil of the flat laminate sheet or the injection molded base so as to cover the entire inwardly facing foil surface of the base. A separate paper or paperboard sheet having the same shape, but a slightly smaller area than the metal foil and base is positioned between the heat-activated adhesive surface of the base and the ends of the cigarettes to provide a protective liner or barrier between the ends of the cigarettes in the container and the heat-activated adhesive of the base and thereby prevent the cigarettes from sticking to the adhesive when it is activated by heat. Because the paperboard liner has a smaller area than the base, it does not bear on the shoulder or ledge at the bottom of the body, but is dimensioned so that it will fit inside the bottom of the container body below the shoulder or ledge.
A sheet material, preferably a metal foil, is adhesively bonded over the access opening in the top and front panel of the body and the lid is then closed. With the container lid closed and the bottom open and oriented upwardly, a batch of twenty cigarettes is loaded into the container body through the upwardly open bottom of the container body. The paperboard protective liner is then inserted into the open bottom of the body past the shoulder and is supported on the cigarette ends and the central molded rib of the body. The base is then inserted into the open bottom of the container body with the heat-activated adhesive surface around the edge of the base bearing on and in contact with the shoulder or ledge of the plastic body. The bottom end of the container is then induction heated for a period of time to activate the adhesive in contact with the shoulder and form an adhesive bond between the shoulder of the plastic body and the base. Should the heat-activated adhesive be activated in an area greater than the portion that is in contact with the shoulder, the paper or paperboard protective liner prevents the adhesive from adhering to the tobacco or the cigarette paper at the ends of the cigarettes in the container. The heat-activated adhesive may also be applied to the thin perimetrical edge of the base that confronts the sidewall of the open end of the container body. Upon activation of the adhesive, the edge of the base will also bond to the sidewall of the body.
The induction heating device for heat-sealing the base to the container body comprises a sealer head made of a non- or low-heat conducting material in which is formed a cavity corresponding in size and geometrical shape to the container. A coil is wound inside the sealer head about the cavity and is energized by electrical energy to generate heat in the cavity. When a container is positioned in the cavity, the coil is energized to a level that causes the heat-activated adhesive only on the edges of the base in contact with the shoulder to be activated.
Although the bonding technique described above is preferred and is one important aspect of the present invention, other techniques may be employed to bond the base in the open end of the container body without departing from the intended scope of the invention. For example, instead of bonding the base to the body with a heat-activated adhesive, the contacting portions of the plastic of the base and body may be bonded by other types of adhesives, by ultrasonic or laser welding or other techniques that will be apparent to those of skill in the art.